“The proper defense against Jew hatred is to lean into our Jewishness as far as each of us can, irrespective of what anyone else thinks of it,” said Bret Stephens at a recent talk.

Nailed it.

A few weeks ago, a student leader, Osher, came bopping into the office with a bold idea. What if we hosted a Shabbat dance party and got everyone from all the campuses to come together? What if we hired a DJ and danced under the stars together? What if?

You know what our answer was (and always is when a student has a bold idea): let’s do it.

At Hillel of San Diego, our priority is ensuring Jewish life is thriving and sparks joy for the thousands of students we serve. Our priority is ensuring that the next generation leaves college inspired and connected to Jewish community, identity, and Israel.We do this by empowering them to drive their own Jewish experiences and by tackling the root of antisemitism on campus. It’s work done in parallel, and it’s constant.

Hillel’s student-planned dance party Shabbat? 230 students from all over San Diego. You should see. Click this link to check it out. This is now a core memory for those students. We are teaching them that being Jewish is about connection. Being Jewish is about community. Being Jewish is about joy. We are teaching them that they have the power to create meaningful Jewish moments that bring them together and to a larger Jewish experience. It’s powerful work with high reward. You fund that through your gift to Hillel of San Diego.

In parallel, we are combating antisemitism on a daily basis on all our campuses. To highlight: Just last week, I was in Washington, D.C. with the senior administration from Cal State San Marcos. Over the course of the next year, together with senior administrators, we will be exploring how antisemitism manifests on college campuses today. CSUSM will receive a comprehensive audit of policies and procedures, assess the current campus culture through robust surveys and focus groups, and establish an action plan to make changes that improve the culture. The partnership between Hillel of San Diego and our universities is shaping the future of Jewish belonging on campus in real time. And this is just one sample of the work we do on this front, as we have full-time staff dedicated to this work every day. You also fund this work through your support of Hillel.

Bad Bunny said it best at the Super Bowl (Go Hawks!): THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE.

Shabbat Shalom,
Karen